Les derniers paysans - Tome 2

In a rugged Poitevin hamlet, the uneasy calm of a modest tavern is shattered when a gendarme drops in unannounced, demanding the whereabouts of a missing young man known only as Loubette. The tired cabanier Jérôme, clutching a half‑filled glass, is forced to confront the officer’s accusing stare and the lingering threat of the dreaded garnisaires — soldiers whose very presence spells ruin for any peasant caught in their wake. The dialogue crackles with the era’s bitter mistrust of the new Republic, and each exchange deepens the sense that old loyalties are being tested by relentless authority.

As the gendarme presses for the hidden rebel, Jérôme’s feigned ignorance gives way to a ragged mix of fear, guilt, and stubborn defiance. Listeners are drawn into a tense tableau of rural life under surveillance, where family ties clash with the harsh demands of a government still consolidating power. The stage is set for a compelling struggle that pits a humble farmer’s conscience against the unforgiving march of law and order.